Sasha Cohen was born in California in 1984. Her actual name is Alexandra Pauline Cohen, but Sasha is a Russian nickname that her parents called her. Her mother, Galina, was a Jewish immigrant from Odessa (Soviet Ukraine), and was a ballet dancer. Her father was a lawyer. She got involved in figure skating at a young age, but did not get really serious about it until 2000. She won several medals in the U.S. Championships, Cup of Russia, and Trophee Lalique. She went on to the 2002-2003 Grand Prix Final held in Saint Petersburg, where she won the gold medal. Her 2003-2004 season was her best season, where she won gold at Skate America, Skate Canada, and the Trophee Lalique. She won silver at the Grand Prix Final in Colorado Springs. She also placed second in the US Championships and World Championships. She did suffer from some injuries throughout her skating career, which she managed to come back from in glorious fashion.

In 2006, she went to the Olympic Games, held in Turin, Italy. She overcame injury and sickness to get that place, and I think that is extremely inspirational. If you want something, you have to get up and show up. You have to fight through fatigue, illness, and injury. If you are determined and work hard, you can accomplish a lot of things. She did fall during her routine, but managed to get the silver medal. She subsequently had more falls and injuries before retiring in 2010.

I found this book on Thriftbooks, and I really enjoyed watching Sasha skate. She was beautiful to watch on the ice. I didn't really know much about her as a person, so this was a very interesting book. I wish that it would have had an updated section, but this book only covered up to the 2006 season. At any rate, if you are a fan of figure skating or Sasha, check it out.